A standard slot machine includes between three and five rotatable reels for use in game play. On the periphery of each reel are gaming symbols, such as assorted fruit, numbers, and/or bar symbols. The reels are caused to spin until each reel reaches a resting position. The success or failure of the game is then determined by comparing the combination of reel symbols that are displayed when the reels are in their resting positions.
To add interest to the game, many different types of slot machines have developed over time. For example, in some slot machines the display windows show more than one adjacent symbol on each reel, thereby allowing betting involving multiple rows. Other types of slot machines have also been developed to increase player interest that include “second chance” games. Typically, “second chance” games try to maintain player interest from a first game segment to a second game segment by providing the player with another opportunity to win.
Additionally, a variety of bonus games have been produced in which a slot machine pays out a final award by adding a single value to, or multiplying a basic slot machine pay award. One such game is a 4-reel slot machine. In such a game, the first three reels embody a basic slot machine game with base pays published on a pay table. For example, 3 bars might pay 10 credits. The 4th reel contains bonus actions that are applied to any base pay if a valid base pay and a bonus action appears on the pay line at the same time. Thus, in one example, the base pay might be multiplied by 10, have 100 added to its value, or respin a random number of times, thereby accumulating some random multiple of the base pay.
Others have produced bonus devices such as secondary wheel games or top box games to provide a bonus game that produces a payment or adds to a base pay on the basic slot machine. These add-on games are more complicated for players to understand and more expensive to produce.
However, there is a continuing need for additional slot machine variants that provide a player with enhanced excitement and diversity of game play, without departing so far from the original slot gaming concept that player comfort is lost. Further, there is a continuing need for a gaming machine that provides increased player excitement due to the visual entertainment that occurs specifically in response to the player's actions. Additionally, there is a continuing need for a gaming machine that provides maintains a high rate of game play speed so that the number of games played is not substantially reduced by the variation from the original slot gaming concept. Accordingly, those skilled in the art have long recognized the need for a gaming machine that addresses these issues. This invention clearly fulfills these and other needs.